2nd September, 2021 

News snippets from across Canada 

Sharing is caring: The newly launched website of the Ki'eshgitabaaning Cultural and Healing Lodge, in northwestern Ontario's Treaty 3 Territory, features podcasts, videos and songs recorded by Anishinaabe elders eager to share their knowledge with future generations. Listeners can tune into a story (in English or Anishinaabe) on how the dog and cat came to be our companions. The center also hosts workshops that teach visitors how to craft hand drums and rattles, practice traditional medicine, sing and reconnect with the earth.

Wine cluster: The new District Wine Village in BC's Okanagan Valley is surrounded by vineyards and home to 16 artisan producers appealing to oenophiles from Canada and around the world. The first wine village in Canada enables small craft producers – including wineries, cideries, distilleries
and other agri-food businesses – to hit the ground running with reduced capital investment, unique marketing potential and support from a community of like-minded entrepreneurs. Visitors will find 16 dedicated production facilities, a culinary experience centre, an onsite vineyard and chef's garden, and a multipurpose amphitheatre.

Stay longer: Opening this fall, the new Lodge at Métis Crossing in Edmonton, Alberta, blends traditional and contemporary Métis craftsmanship. The 40-room boutique lodge is directly adjacent to the Métis Crossing Cultural Gathering Centre and offers scenic views overlooking the North Saskatchewan River – the very route used by Métis ancestors. Here, guests can replenish their spirit and feel the connection to centuries-old Métis land.

Resort revamp: Nova Scotia's Cape Smokey has delighted skiers since the 1970s with exceptional runs from mountains to the ocean. Under new management, the resort is undergoing a $100 million revamp to transform it into a year-round destination for outdoor enthusiasts. Here, visitors will find the only brewery – opening in 2022 – along the world-famous Cabot Trail, as well as North America's first tree walk, soaring 30 metres above the mountain. Winter activities include sledding and tubing, backcountry skiing, snowshoeing and heliskiing; summer fun includes lazy river tubing, canoeing, ocean water slide, bike parks and trails.

Openings in British Columbia: After a lengthy closure, Sea to Sky Gondola in Vancouver reopened with an array of mountaintop adventures. Visitors can ascend the gondola to the summit through the fall, emerging into an outdoor playground of swaying suspension bridge, interpretive walking trails, hiking routes, and rock climbing. Over in Golden, the Golden Skybridge has unveiled the highest suspension bridges in Canada, which soar 426 feet above an expansive canyon in the Columbia Valley. There are panoramic views of the Rocky and Purcell mountain ranges, with a rushing river and thundering waterfall below, along with three kilometres of nature trails and a treetop village play park. And on Vancouver Island, the new Malahat Skywalk is an accessible 600-metre treetop walk through leafy arbutus forest, leading to a spectacular view of Finlayson Arm, Saanich Peninsula, Mount Baker and the Coast Mountains. High above the Salish Sea, the experience expands the accessibility of wilderness experiences from agile explorers to strollers and wheelchairs. Visitors view the jewel-like Salish Sea from a 360-degree viewing platform before meandering through the treetop canopy and kearning about the ecosystem at interpretive viewpoints.

Model models: The recently launched Supernaturals Modelling, the first Indigenous modelling agency in the world, aims to address issues of representation, mental health awareness and poor cultural sensitivity. The pioneering initiative, based in Vancouver, was founded by Joleen
Mitton, a veteran Cree model and founder of Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week, and Patrick Shannon, a member of the Haida Nation and founder of InnoNative, an Indigenous BC film production company.

Hybrid Cities: Three Canadian cities (Winnipeg, Ottawa and Edmonton) are now members of the international Hybrid City Alliance, a global
partnership of forward-thinking cities taking hybrid multihub events to the next level. Though each of the 18 member cities are unique in flavour, culture, and economic profile, Alliance members share similar event hosting capabilities that make them ideal partners. That means event planners will be better able to organize conferences and meetings spread across multiple city hubs that are aligned in terms of destination size, offerings, specializations, welcome, and feel.

Farming without fossil fuels: On Prince Edward Island, Atlantic Grown Organics has partnered with the provincial government to become the first farm in Canada to heat its 1.6- hectare greenhouse operations entirely with locally sourced biomass, or organic matter. The family-owned operation has long been committed to sustainable management, installing a boiler system in the mid-1980s fuelled by bales of straw. Now, supported with more than $800,000 in government funding, the farm is adopting new technologies to further Canada's leadership in sustainable farming and food.

Communal fridge: Outdoor fridges are popping up across Canada – and no, they aren't headed for the dump. Painted in bright colours and propped on public sidewalks, the appliances are part of a steadily growing food-sharing initiative known as “the community fridge.” Passersby are invited to take what they need and leave what they can, to feed vulnerable community members.

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Photo Credit: Malahat Skywalk, British Columbia  - Hamish Hamilton 

For more media information please contact Ms. Nim Singh, singh.nim@destinationcanada.com (not for publication)